Posts Tagged ‘Exercise’

I came across some new footwear from Nike, the Nike Studio Wrap. See for yourself:

I know! Perfect for martial arts training, in the sometime less then dirt free Dojo Floor! Practical, has a cover you can wear on your way home.

I can do without the other accessories however they could be turned into non-obvious self-defense tools in a pinch… 😉 There is one really big problem…They are for Women Only! What was Nike thinking, why are they discriminating against Men who practice Karate (or Yoga)?! I’ve written Nike but I doubt I’ll get a response…

At least that is the claim, really not a claim as much as the basis for this post. Why is email healthier for you? The reason is simple, every time to lick a stamp you are consuming one-tenth of a calorie. Yes, one-tenth of a percent is what you are saving every time you send an email instead of a letter. I am afraid there is a great injustice being done to young Brides as they invite all their relatives to their wedding! TEN calories for every 100 people you invite!!

So, why am I writing this? It does seem a little ridiculous doesn’t it? It is. Obviously you will burn off that one-tenth of a calorie walking to the mailbox to send your letter, something that doesn’t happen with email. But the point really is how silly and obsessive we can be about calories and health. We can be so silly and obsessive that our common-sense goes out the window.

My point is; when we are sitting surfing the internet or writing an email, we are not active. When we are not active, we atrophy. Do yourself a favor, write a friend a letter, consume one-tenth of a calorie and then walk to the mailbox or post office and mail that letter! Your friend will probably be pleasantly surprised too! Walking to the mailbox can be the first step towards a more active and healthy life. Give it a try…

Forget New Year resolutions, they don’t work for a litany of reasons. One of those reasons is you are taught through media and social engineering that you are OK the way you are. You are taught there is no ideal or perfect way or state of being. You are taught to be consumers not producers. Your kids are taught so too. There is a constant onslaught of relax, chill, you are fine, be happy with yourself, and a host of other new age bull crap messages. We are taught to look outward not inward. Not feeling well, buy something! Where is the proof? If you need proof you are blind, but here is a graphic of the average American that demonstrates what I am talking about:

What was once uncommon has become common. What was once sought after is now shunned. We have let ourselves be led to an instant gratification society, we don’t want to work, we want it now, no pain, no sweat, no effort. I see this every week no matter where I go.

This pertains to the Martial Arts because people don’t earn their belts anymore, they buy them (with rare exceptions). The funny thing is they don’t even know they are doing it, buying their advancement. Most Martial Arts schools know that in order for students to “stick” with their training, they have to keep them interested because if success doesn’t come quickly it will be abandon as too hard.

Today everyone gets a trophy! There is no First place…it is disgusting. The sad part is it is pervasive in every aspect of our society and like any cancer it is spreading. The only solution is to push back, to push a culture of success and failure, to stress the importance of hard work and sweat, personal reflection and improvement. Our greatest competitor should be ourselves, but that takes honesty, did you give it your all? Was that your best? No excuses, excuses are the slippery slope to mediocrity.

OK, I have a life and I am not an obsessed person, which means …I have a life! I do not live to eat nor do I live to be in perfect shape. Pathetic some may say but they probably don’t have a life. Or they are independently wealthy! Yes we all attend Karate class at least once or twice a week but that isn’t enough.

Balancing job, family, chores, and the a sundry other tasks and commitments in your life and there is precious little time left for sleep let alone a 10 mile run (ok 5 mile run)! But that doesn’t mean we can’t stay in shape we just have to make it part of your day where you can spare a few minutes here and there. Here is what I do through out the day to help stay in shape.

On days when I haven’t had any time I do these all before bed as it helps me sleep (I know that doesn’t apply to everyone). I also find doing these before bed seems to help me burn calories when I sleep or at least the scale seems to reflect that in the morning.

Obviously this should not be all the exercise you get but it is a good start to staying/getting toned. If you have access to stairs I like to do 10-15 flights for a quick cardio workout.

Start with this, add in as much of your Karate workout as room/time allows for and you will find that you look forward to your little exercise breaks more with eash day. If you commit to doing this 6 days a week for 3 months it will become part of your daily routine for ever…!

I have been watching what I eat for the past 3-4 months. Over that time I have lost a few and gained a few pounds. Overall my weight is down about 5 pounds. Honestly I am only have about ten pounds of fat to loose, some of that weight needs to be converted. I know this has some people rolling their eyes in disgust. The truth is I could just as easily tell you I was 100 pounds over weight and that I had lost 90 pounds, it doesn’t really matter. The fact is losing weight is difficult no matter what your start weight. The only way to lose weight is the hard way. Yes we all know that 20 year old that can shed 20 pounds in a week, that isn’t normal and they will pay for it when they are 40!

I need to say that again. The only way to lose weight is the hard way. You see it is simple math, (there go those eye rolls again!), our bodies are pretty simple machines when you ignore all the complexity. Our metabolism burns so many calories everyday regardless of our activity, if we are not doing much that is all we need to take in to “maintain” our weight. If you want to lose weight, then you need to either take in less or burn off more. You now know the secret of ALL weight loss programs, minus the expensive meals, books, DVD’s, rich spokes people who have personal Chef’s and trainers, just the facts. Now if you want to pay me money for this, if that will help motivate you then by all means, show me the money! You can send it to me through the Donation Button at the top of the Right menu column.

So don’t be fooled into screwing up your metabolism with a cabbage diet or all steak, miracle pills, or well you get the idea. It’s time to quit fooling yourself into thinking there is an easier way, do the work, control your inclination to put food in your mouth and suck it up!

Your current height, weight, and age doesn’t matter, so keep it simple. One secret, if you are hungry, drink water, our bodies can’t discern between hunger and thirst, that might help. Stick to the following schedule and you WILL lose weight.

Men

Eat 1800 Calories a Day

Example Schedule:

Breakfast:
Eat 500 calories
(When you wake up)

Lunch:
Eat 600 calories
(During your lunch break)

Dinner:
Eat 700 calories
(At least 3 hours before bedtime)

Women

Eat 1500 Calories a Day

Example Schedule:

Breakfast:
Eat 400 calories
(When you wake up)

Lunch:
Eat 500 calories
(During your lunch break)

Dinner:
Eat 600 calories
(At least 3 hours before bedtime)

Results:
Will vary but you should lose about 1 lb per week…or about 52 lbs per year!!

What do you do if you eat more than this each day? You guessed it…Exercise. Get on the bike or treadmill but remember working off the extra calories is hard work!

For example: Running for 30 minutes at 5 MPH will only burn off around 380 calories, sounds good until you try to run at 5 mph for 30 minutes!! Don’t believe me, calculate it for yourself.

Remember…if this were easy, everyone would be skinny. And if you think this was helpful or if you feel it will help you stick to the program, donate!!

Don’t take the title wrong, I am not making light of hard work. I have engaged in hard work most of my life, real hard work. I’ve work construction pouring concrete for 10+ hours a day, raising houses, roofing in the middle of summer and digging ditches. Real hard work not the kind you hear about at the water cooler! Hard manual work can be physically exhausting. Hard work can make your body stronger. Hard work can be very rewarding.

But… Hard Work is not Exercise.

As someone who has done hard physical labour for most of my life, this was a hard pill to swallow. The more I meditated on this thought the more I realised the truth of it. Hard work can make you strong. Hard work can give you endurance. But still, hard work is not exercise because it isn’t usually beneficial to your whole body. Not saying I want to arm-wrestle with a steel worker! But even the steel workers (I had one for a student) need exercise. Exercise is about more than strength of a specific muscle group, it is about fitness. The downside of hard work is it often leaves you to exhausted to exercise. Any good exercise program will help you accomplish 3 main things, elevate your heart rate (aerobic), work your muscles (strengthen) and most importantly and often forgotten improve your agility (flexibility). No hard work is going to do all three of these. Add a balanced diet of appropriate portion sizes and you have yourself a recipe for good health and happy thoughts. Make your exercise a part of your daily life by spreading throughout your day and night, it makes it harder to skip and will improve your mood and day.

People think exercising is hard work, if they do tell them they are doing it wrong, because Hard Work isn’t exercise!

The funny thing about exercise, is most people view it as a chore, but no matter who you are, you always feel better afterwards…

At some point in our lives we all have to watch our weight. I was blessed with a great metabolism and could literally eat anything for most of my life. Time, work and life have slowly changed that and in doing so changed how I view food. For some people this is a struggle they have for most of their life. It is also a problem that women struggle with more than men due to the way our bodies differ. Regardless of when or how you begin to “watch your weight” or what your motivation is, the struggle is the same for all of us.

I for one do not diet. Mostly I do not think it is necessary unless there are underlying medical conditions like diabetes. By diet, I mean eating special foods or eliminating certain foods (aside from junk food). I do believe in portion control, something most of us know nothing about. We eat like Lions, meaning we gorge ourselves until we can not eat any more, for guys this is often a rite of passage. Women do this too, the proof (sorry ladies) is easiest seen in pregnant women who love to tell everyone they are eating for two, even though the second person is the size of a quarter…

Often we eat when we are thirsty because we cannot tell the difference between thirst and hunger. A good tip is to have a glass of water the next time you are hunger and then wait a little bit, you might just forget you are hungry! So those are my big tips, drink water and eat smaller portions.

Since I have never had a weight problem and do not consider myself an expert I thought it a good idea to include a different perspective. Enter, Marina Kamen. I have never met Marina, though I have exchanged a few emails with her manager and found her video interview a refreshing perspective. Marina is a normal person. What I mean by that is she isn’t so rich that she has people cook for her, take care of her kids, clean her house, etc. She is normal, like us. She has also overcome a weight problem and stayed in incredible shape. But don’t take my word for it listen her, here, this is one of three segments but it says a lot I think everyone can relate to.

[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dt3C1IPcTg[/tube]

Refreshing, no? This is why I do not diet, plus life is to short to feel guilty all the time! It boils down to the basics: Eat less, burn more. Eat to live, instead of living to eat. Weight control is just basic math, addition (eating) and subtraction (exercise). SO don’t only practice your Martial Arts at the Dojo, practice at home too! Those are my thoughts for now, hope you found something useful! Let me know if you did.

We live in an instant gratification world where we rarely have to wait for anything, so why should weight loss be any different? For those who want instant results they are prone to believe anything, hence the success of Crazy Diets that promise fast results. Want to shed some extra pounds quickly? Bad idea for your health but you may get the figure you need for that special event or date. To many of us look for short term gains. Short term gains usually are very costly in the long term. Look at the economy! Dieting is no different. Any diet that promises instant, quick or fast results is probably a bad idea. Remember the Cabbage diet? Or the Steak diet? Nothing to the extreme is a good thing. True dieting takes time, commitment and desire, often they also require you change the way you view hunger and food. Do you eat to live or live to eat? The answer is important to understanding yourself and finding a way to manage your weight.

At some point most of us live to eat. The reasons are plentiful why we do this, age, boredom, stress, complacency, excuses, self-pity, frustration, or simply because you love to! Did you notice how most of the reasons in that list were… negative? When we are involved in something we enjoy we tend to forget we are hungry. Funny isn’t it? Most hunger stems from two things, the first is boredom/stress the second is dehydration. You see the human body cannot (has a hard time) distinguish between hunger and thrist. So your first step should be to have a glass of water the next time you feel you *have to* eat something. If you are still hungry (15-20 minutes later) then you probably should eat something.

Moderation. We have all heard ‘everything in moderation’ and while there is some truth to that it seems, well like a load of garbage. Yes, yes I understand how it intended but how do people use it? People use it as an excuse for that next candy bar or piece of cake. “Well I am only having a little…” which often turns into a relative statement. The piece of cake was small “relative to the entire cake”! What I am saying is that moderation statement can to often be used as an excuse to ‘cheat’. How quickly would we attain things in life if everything was done in moderation? That 1500 mile drive might take 5 days! How long would it take you to get your Black Belt?! Life is filled with excess, we work to much and play to hard, but think about what you remember? Do you remember the moderate times or the extreme times? Do you remember that refreshing 1 mile run or do you remember that sense of exhaustion and triumph from your first 7 mile run? We humans live for those extreme moments. But there is safety to consider. Yes it is extreme to base jump without a parachute but also incredible stupid and short sighted! If we are going to get into shape we want to push our limits without causing damage that will prevent us from continuing. As a martial artist our training teaches us to push our limits, to go farther and do more then we thought we were capable of, getting in shape is no different. Yes I am for safety and I am still vehemently opposed to fast/fad/crazy diet techniques but let us keep the whole moderation thing in check. Can an alcoholic moderate their way to sobriety, one drink a day Johnnie! Similarly, is it so any easy to stop at one Oreo when there is a whole bag sitting there? For many the answer is no, because two or three is still considered moderation. The question is why? For many people, myself included, it is because we never learned portion control. Our access to food is to easy, to convenient. We are very fortunate but that fortune has to some extent turned into a problem.

Health before moderation. Like the ‘Common Cold’, there is no ‘Miracle’ diet that will help you transform your body. If there were we would all be athletes, fitness instructors, and swimsuit models! Some of us are fortunate to be born with good genes that predispose us to “thinness” some are not. Regardless of your body shape or size there is your health to consider. The first thing you need to do is get the magazine images out of your head, that is not real and not realistic for normal people (all not normal people should seek a different blog, this blog is for normal people with lives). People tend to put the cart before the horse, they are concerned with the image in the mirror, they should be concerned with how they feel. Perhaps that is because we use the term “Getting into Shape”. First set a non-weight specific goal for yourself, like run a mile or climb 5 flights of stairs without getting winded. If you do this the weight will take care of itself. Watching your weight will lead to overeating, you will get discouraged and go back to your old ways doing this, you will set yourself up to fail. Often when you start working out you will gain weight. Yes, because your body has a memory and when you increase your activity and decrease your eating your body thinks…”Oh My God! We aren’t getting enough to meet the demand!!” That is the game plan but your body doesn’t get it right away. You are also prone to retain water at first again because your body thinks there is a need. After a few days or more your body will realize you have enough food and water and go back to doing its job and stop interfering.

Wow, I’ve gone off track here but hopefully it has been beneficial. Back to Fad diets. In case you still aren’t convinced… Using Fad diets can actually make you gain weight. Read that last paragraph again, that’s right because your body thinks you are starving and will want to store up some fat in case it happens again. Moreover fad diets tend to mess up your metabolism. Certain fad diets can have adverse effects on almost every organ in your body, especially your heart and nervous system. Why? Because many starve your body of the nutrients it gets from a normal, well balanced diet. Fad diets can lead to nutritional imbalances (like anemia, etc.), Electrolyte disorders, increased risk of disease, adverse effects on the nervous system, metabolism, etc.. For those of you who repeatedly turn to fad diets your oscillating weight (repetitive cycles of weight gain and weight loss followed by weight gain and) usually has a negative impact on overall longterm health. Literature shows a 70% increase risk of heart disease and negative effect on long-term metabolism. Women are also at risk of osteoporosis through lower intake of dietary calcium. Frequent events of oscillating weight can have similar effects as eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. The way to avert these negative health effect is *duration*. You have to stick to it and improve your health (and in the process your weight) for the duration. No moderation there!

The science behind Fad diets are pretty simple, they are usually centered on increased fat and protein consumption while significantly reducing or completely cutting out carbohydrates. The lack or reduced carbohydrates bring about rapid weight loss. This rapid weight reduction is due to the loss of water in stored glycogen is only temporary. Your fats are still present and when you stop the fad diet, your body regains the water it lost. Weight is put back on as fast as it was lost. We need carbohydrates as they are a major source of energy for work. Fad diets seek to remove that source so your body will start using stored fat, breaking it down. This sounds like a great way to get rid of excess fat but it is not. Without carbohydrates fats cannot be completely oxidized and put to work for your body.

Another unspoken danger of fad diets is muscle loss. When you starve (even perceived) your body the last thing it consumes is your fat. If you are not actively making muscle that means that your body will consume muscle before fat! In a previous article I spoke to the importance of creating muscle to burn fat. Building muscle will turn consumption more quickly to the fat you wish to lose. Here is where that word moderation comes into play. You need to get your body adjusted to the new life style you are creating. You do not want to throw your body into shock! Ease into at a reasonable pace, moderate your progress in an honest fashion to keep yourself moving forward. For many I highly recommend seeking professional help in the form of a good Person Trainer…or Sensei!

Keep reading and as always… Train Hard, Stay Safe and Have Fun!

Warning! Before starting a diet you should first have a complete medical examination (check-up), and according to the results, we follow a diet and exercise plan that meets our needs.

We all have busy schedules and to be honest there often isn’t enough time in the day to get a good workout in. All the exercise programs, DVDs and clubs make it sound so easy, well honestly when it is your job it is easy! But I am assuming most of us are not getting paid to workout and stay in shape!! So what is a busy person with a real life to do? How are you supposed to go to work, take care of the kids, clean the house, cook the meals, shop for the essentials, do the laundry, find a few minutes to relax, and still find the time to workout and get in shape?!

Well I am tired just thinking of all those mundane chores that need to be done, but that is part of the solution…stop thinking! Seriously you are wasting valuable energy thinking about the daunting list of tasks you need to attend to. Baby Steps. Now that your mind is clear, you should be able to find roughly extra ten minutes you use to spend thinking (worrying) about all your responsibilities. What to do with that ten minutes?

Get in Shape of course! In ten minutes? Yes, it is your first step towards getting in shape. It is best if you can use do your ten minutes first thing in the morning, before the demands of the day start to give you excuses for not having ten minutes!

Ten minutes of exercise per day can get rid of extra pounds, but you have to be committed to giving ten minutes per day (every day) for three months. Doing this will yield stronger muscles, weight loss and a more relaxed body. Ten minutes a day can get rid of those extra pounds you are carrying.

Remember you have to do this for three months, not just a week or two.

The first thing you want to do is warm your body up. Do this by performing 4 minutes of cardiovascular exercises. (Run/Walk fast on treadmill, run in place, briskly climb the stairs, stationary bike, jumping jacks, jump rope, etc).

Now that your body is warmed up you will perform 3 minutes of strength exercises.
Here you want to do push-ups (wall push-ups for the beginner), squats, lunges, arm squats (hands on the seat of a chair, feet on another chair, lower yourself and then back up). Whatever exercises you choose should give work to the various areas of your body want to target. These need to be resistance based exercises, if you have weights you can use them during this 3 minute period.

We are now 7 minutes in to our ten minute workout!

Next we will spend 2 minutes working on your abdominals and core muscle groups.

Here you can do sit-ups, planks, upward leg lifts (lying on your back). Again the exercises you choose are fine just make they focus on your abs and core muscle groups.

One minute left and we can get back to our busy lives! We will spend this last minute stretching and breathing, yes stretching and breathing!

Perform deep breathing exercises while you stretch while sitting on the floor. With you legs spread, your back straight and arched, stretch your arms above your head, palms up. Next stretch your arms, finger pointed directly in front of you. Now stretch down the length of each leg reaching as far as you can. Finally stretch your arms, fingers interlocked, behind you raising your arms as far as is comfortable. Remember to take deep slow cleansing breaths with each stretch. Proper breathing increases the blood flow thereby helping in the remove of the fat and toxins your exercise just released.

That’s it, you are done. Now you can start your day feeling invigorated, stress free and relaxed. Now all those things you needed to do also don’t seem so daunting. Stay Safe and Have Fun.